


nightshades

by Augurey



Series: Vergessene Küsse - Forgotten kisses (Rareship-Series) [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Granny Slash, Long-Term Relationship(s), Minor Character(s), Old Age, Older Characters, One Shot, POV Minor Character, Rare Pairings, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25040350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augurey/pseuds/Augurey
Summary: Poppy Pomfrey and Pomona Sprout. Two old witches, two colleagues. Two who are on very good terms with each other. But Poppy und Pomona are sharing more than only a workplace: A secret love!
Relationships: Poppy Pomfrey/Pomona Sprout
Series: Vergessene Küsse - Forgotten kisses (Rareship-Series) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1250846
Kudos: 2





	nightshades

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Nachtschattengewächse - StoryHub Fanfiction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17451893) by [Augurey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augurey/pseuds/Augurey). 



> This is a translation of one of my German fanfictions. I used Google Translate, dict.cc and my own knowlegde acquired at school for this, but I don't warrant correct English.

Full moon, a glitter on the wide window panes, behind which the endless tent of a star-covered night was streching. Like pale mirrors the silkbushclapper strechted their white, vitreous leafs towards the incident moonlight and in one of the dark corners the blossoms of the fireflysnare glowed dimly, a glimmer of hope in the dark. Apart from that there was only silence all around. Deathly Silence. Almost as if the whole world held its breath as the hands of the distant tower clock of Hogsmeade passed the witching hour. Only the clouds of haze rising from Poppy's own face swirled through the air as hazy veils. In the greenhouse it was bitterly cold. Bone-chilling cold has enbrased Hogwarts with his icy fist for a week. But Poppy didn't mind. She was hardened since she had served as a hospital healer in France as a young witch during the Grindelwald Wars and had not enjoyed the amenities of a fortress with a warm teacher's lounge and a good tea kitchen. Stoically she stayed on her spot between fleshy, dark green leaves and brown, dangerous slings and waited. Waited for her colleague to give her a new carriage of medicinal plants for the Hospital Wing. Waited while her heart was throbing quietly in the beat of the clockhands.

"We're like nightshade plants, aren't we?", Pomona had jokingly asked her when she last saw each other, just over 24 hours ago, somewhere between yesterday and today on the threshold of time. And Poppy hadn't contradicted her. Now that her gaze glided over the perennials and tendrils, the leaves and flowers around her, she had to think about it again and a secret smile slipped over her lips. Maybe Pommy was right. Perhaps she had found the most beautiful metaphor on her little secret. How many did her know only as Madam Pomfrey, as the resolute, dutiful healer of the infirmary; as the one who even put her boss in front of the door in the flesh when the recovery of her patients was at stake. But the hours after duty houres transformed her. As soon as she had shaken up the beds and left the white pillows and sheets behind, she stripped this healer like a coat and another Poppy Pomfrey emerged from the snakeskin. A Poppy Pomfrey who longed for a hug; who wanted to pour out her heart and recognize in another person the port of her own soul... 

And found the ears that listened to her; hands that caressed and lips that sealed hers with warm kisses. Here, between the plants, here in the realm of the herb witch of Hogwarts, the Head of Hufflepuff.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you for this? You are so strong and clear in your attitude, so dedicated! Your fire, I wish I had only one spark of it!"

"But Pommy!" she had answered indignantly, receiving a smile. A smile that drove her little sparks of fire under her skin. Could there be a better person under the roof of this school than Pomona Sprout? With devotion she put every seed into the earth. With devotion, she potted every sapling. With devotion she brushed the strands off Poppy's face and wiped away her sighs over difficult patients with golden words. Every week, every day, every minute, here between medicinal herbs and earth, between the nightshade plants. Because they were also nightshade plants. The darkness was their veil, the slumber of the world their protection. Nobody knew anything about their little secret. A romance in the staff of teachers and then to top it all between two women. No one would understand them. No one, except Minerva, the old friend to which they had once confessed their little lesion, long, long ago when their love was still a seedling. By now, the dust of time lay on it. Poppy's strands had turned grey, deep wrinkles swirled around Pomona's smile. But their love... their love did not age. It was an evergreen that bloomed forever. Blossomed until death would part them.

"If I ever die, than in your arms," Pomona once confessed to her, whispering quietly between two sips of tea in her small, ivy-covered office. "Pommy, I won't let that happen!" she had replyed, horrified, setting aside her own cup, "With Merlin and if I have to fly a carpet to Timbiktu to find a medicinal herb and save you, that's out of the question. Dying, Honestly!"

But Pomona was just smiling. "Once is the time for all of us, Poppy, you can't deny that. We're not getting any younger. But until the time comes, I want to be at your side every breath. I love you. I love you more than I can say."

And Poppy had understood, silently returning her smile. And the silence had spoken out the words that her lips withholded, while in the fireplace the fire cracked, and the heat tingled in their veins: _I love you, too, my girl, my angel. I love you, too, always and everymore._

Smiling, immersed in sweet memories, Poppy was looking at the window - the dark horizon, the haze of her breath and the midnight stars- as a soft sound made her take notice. A sound in the silence of the world while every human soul was sleeping. At the other end of the hall went a door and steps approached leisurely. The healer looked up and turned. The round face appeared in the glittering moon. On her hair, a teasing hat with hundreds of patches and her lips bent to a warm smile. Their eyes met in the semi-shade, mirrored only by the pale leaves of the silkbushclapper and the world held its breath once again. The winter frost crumbled in warmth as the embers stired in their hearts and the two women approached each other.

"Poppy!", one longingly wispered. 

"Pommy!" replied the other tenderly.

Two words only and two seconds. Two steps and they were in each other's arms, rapt in an intimate kiss. Behind them, the fireflysnare glowed like a glimmer of hope in the darkness. The darkness of the nightshades.


End file.
